


Berk Zoo and Sanctuary

by Claycastles



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Other, This is pure fluff, Toothless is a panther, zoo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 01:58:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15962261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claycastles/pseuds/Claycastles
Summary: Hiccup works at the Berk Zoo, which is connected to the Berk Sanctuary, where his mother works. One day an injured panther comes to the sanctuary, and no one expected the bond Hiccup and that Panther would have.Inspired by Kiridi's artwork on tumblr and written with their consent.





	1. Eating Lunch With a Panther

Hiccup supposed working at the Berk zoo was alright. All he had to do was feed animals and clean up after visitors. He didn’t hate it, and it got him a paycheck, even if he didn’t really have a choice about working there. His mother, Valka, was in charge of the Berk Sanctuary, which was attached to the zoo. It was a large medical building that cared after injured animals. They took in animals from the zoo and the wild, patched them up, and sent them where they thought was best. Sometimes wild animals got released back to the wild, but sometimes they ended up joining the zoo, due to the severity of their injury.

That’s how Hookfang ended up in the zoo. Hookfang was an overgrown, exotic species of crocodile with a horrible dental situation. His teeth were all hooked in painful positions. Luckily the sacentary’s dentist, Mr. Gobber, managed to help the poor animal out. The catch was, he wouldn’t be able to hunt again with his new teeth. If he was released into the wild, he’d certainly starve, so now he was part of the zoo. There were lots of animals like that in the Berk Zoo, and they all received the best available care. 

Hiccup wanted to join the sactenary. He wanted to help animals, not sit outside a cage and pick up trash that magically landed two feet from the actual trash can. Valka kept telling him no, and that he was needed in the zoo. It was rather frustrating, but he kept asking.

Apparently, in this particular situation, persistence actually paid off. One day, his mother came to find him in the zoo. He was sweeping trash off the ground.

“Hiccup,” She started, grabbing him arm. “Would you come help me in the sactenary really quick?”

Hiccup noddedly mutely, surprised by the request. After a long moment, he found his words. “Um, what do you need?”

Valka ran a hand through her hair, looking stressed. “I need someone to hold the door.”

Hiccup was a tiny bit disappointed, but he’d take what he could get.

She truly wasn’t joking about holding the door, Hiccup realised, as he stood next to the sactenary door, holding it open as people rushed in and out with boxes of medical supplies. They were unloading a truck and restocking their storage room. It wasn’t anything close to what Hiccup was hoping for, but at least he was inside the sactenary, right?

 

Valka carried the last box towards the door, but hesitated to speak to Hiccup. “Thank you son, we’ve been needing an extra set of hands around here.”

Hiccup tried not to sound bitter. “Then maybe you should let me help out more?”

Valka laughed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, kiddo. Come on, as a thank you, I’ll show you around.”

Hiccup perked up immediately. Now that was more like it! He practically pushed his mom inside and slammed the door. He took the box from his mom and hurried it to storage, then ran straight back. “Okay! I’m ready!” He exclaimed in excitement. Finally he was getting to do something exciting!

Valka chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, come on.” She lead him down a long hallway with huge glass windows viewing different enclosures. Those enclosures weren’t open to the public. They were used for housing injured animals.

As they walked Valka pointed out a panda with a skin condition, a blinded coyote, and a hawk with a broken wing. She explained how trappers, hunters, and poachers had hurt them and how they were her responsibility.

When they got to the end of the hallway Hiccup saw an empty enclosure. It was a wide open field with stone walls, like an alcove. There was a large pond in the middle and a few trees and big rocks. “It’s empty?” Hiccup asked.

“No, actually-,” Valka didn’t get to finish her response as something huge and black leap at the glass, trying to claw its way up and out of the enclosure. The beast failed and slide back down to the ground with a defeated thud.

Having been startled, Hiccup clutched his chest, breathing heavily. “Oh my god.”

Valka barked a laugh. “Yeah, he likes to do that.”

Hiccup watched the beast slink off, defeated. It was a panther. He was sleek black, with a lithe body. Oddly enough, his left hind leg was cut off below the ankle. “Uh... “ Hiccup cleared his throat, trying to sound braver than he was. “What happened to his leg.”

“Poachers.” Valka scowled. “He’s been having trouble adjusting. Het got here a few days ago.”

Hiccup glanced down at his own left leg, which was also cut off at the ankle. He had been in a pretty terrible car accident a few years back, and lost his leg in consequence.

Valka must have noticed him looking at his own leg, because she nudged him. “Hey, cut that out. He’ll be fine.”

Hiccup shook his head and watched the panther again. He was sulking against the edges of the enclosure, likely looking for an escape. “Does he have a name?”

“No. We don’t name the wounded wild ones, we don’t want to get attached.” Valka sighed. “They’ll probably go straight back to the wild, so what’s the point?

Hiccup nodded in understanding. “And if they go to the zoo?”

“Then we name them.” Valka gave a small smile.

Hiccup couldn’t take his eyes off the panther’s leg. The panther hesitated and looked back at him. Hiccup tilted his head curiously, and to his surprise, the panther copied him. There was something in that animal’s eyes, so sharp and undeniably intelligent.

Valka cleared her throat to catch his attention. “Hiccup, if you want to come back and check in on him, you can.”

Hiccup whipped around to face her. “Really? I can come back?” Part of Hiccup knew she was just trying to make him feel better. She was weird about his leg most of the time, so he wasn’t very surprised.

Valka sighed. “Sure.”

Hiccup glanced back at the panther, grinning widely. The panther stared back from across the enclosure, and something in his eyes told Hiccup this was an important day.

\----

The next day, of course, Hiccup spent his lunch break in the sanctuary. He grabbed his lunch from the breakroom and practically ran all the way there. His mother was waiting for him, holding the door open. “Thanks mom!” He called as he slipped past her.

He hurried down the hallway and stopped in front of the enclosure. There was a little stoop in front of the glass, and Hiccup sat down on top of it to eat. He watched the panther slink around the enclosure his entire lunch break.

The beast barely met his eyes. He simply minded his own business, investigating his new home. Hiccup watched him climb rocks and trees and attempt to scale the enclosure walls. He wasn’t having much success.

Hiccup sat with him for weeks, every day at lunch. Valka gave Hiccup updates about his health, but no matter how positive the updates were, Hiccup noticed something wrong. The panther was trying less and less. He stopped climbing the walls. He wasn’t trying to escape anymore. It bothered Hiccup. Now all the panther did was lay in the grass for hours, unmoving.

Hiccup knew what was happening, and his mom surely knew too. The same thing happened to Hiccup after the car crash. The panther was depressed. He’d given up. Hiccup desperately wanted to help him, but had no idea how.

In all honesty, it made Hiccup feel physically ill to the point where he couldn’t go in to work. He ended up taking a sick day.

The next day he mustered up as much corague as he could, and went in to work. Part of him was dreading lunch. He wasn’t sure he could sit against the glass and watch the panther wither away. The poor animal was barely eating.

Nonetheless, Hiccup went to eat in the sanctuary. As he approached the window he could see a mass of black fur laying still by the pond. The only signs of life where the slight rise and fall of his chest. Hiccup sighed and sat down against the glass to eat.

The moment he sat down, the panther’s head shot up. Hiccup froze. The panther was staring at him. Hiccup stared back. For a long moment, neither of them moved, then the panther stood up and limped towards the glass. He looked so much thinner than before. The panther stopped a few yards from the glass, and just watched him.

“Uh, hey, buddy.” Hiccup greeted with an awkward wave. The panther sat down and continued watching him intently. Hiccup took this an invitation to keep talking. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here yesterday, buddy. I was sick. I’m here now though.”

The panther made a noise deep in the back of his throat that wasn’t quite a purr or a growl.

Hiccup scoffed. “Oh, is that so?” He asked in a teasing tone.

The panther made another noise in response.

“Yeah, tell me all about it dude.” Hiccup nodded, as if seriously listening to what the panther was saying.

The panther stood back up and took a few more steps towards the glass, then sat back down. He made a string of noises, as if talking back to Hiccup.

Hiccup grinned at the panther, excited to see he wasn’t as depressed as before. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, buddy.”

\----

The panther seemed to be in a better mood after that. Hiccup would sit down for lunch, and the panther stopped whatever he was doing to come talk to Hiccup. Of course, Hiccup had no idea what the panther was grumbling about, but man, was he determined to tell Hiccup all about it. He gave short growls, meows, and coos, strung together into some long frustrated complaint. Hiccup always listened and encouraged.

“Go on,” Hiccup gestured towards the panther through the glass. “What happened next?”

The panther laid down and made another long nose, looking straight at Hiccup, and tail swaying behind him.

Hiccup nodded. “Right, and?”

The panther made another noise, seemingly more excited about this one.

Hiccup knew the animal probably was just making noise, but he seemed to like their ‘conversations’ so he always talked back. Slowly but surely, the panther grew more and more social.

\----

“How on earth are you managing this?” Valka asked as Hiccup left lunch one day. “He was so depressed before.”

Hiccup shrugged and dropped his lunch trash into the bin. “I just… talk to him. He talks back.”

“He talks back?” Valka asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

Hiccup nodded. “He just makes little noises, is all.” Hiccup gestured out the door. “I gotta go back to work. See ya’ later mom.”

Hiccup left the sactenary and headed out to feed the birds. He told Astrid he’d help today. He found her sitting inside the enclosure with Stormfly, a huge, colorful parrot. Astrid was holding out some bird feed in one hand, and Stormfly was perched on her other arm, eating the bird feed.

Hiccup grabbed a bucket of extra bird feed and entered the enclosure. “Hey, Astrid, have you filled the feeders yet?”

She shook her head. “No, can you get them?”

Hiccup nodded. “I’m on it. How’s Stormfly?”

The bird gave a loud squak at the sound of her name, and Astrid laughed. “She’s doing good.” The bird finished her food, then flew off. Astrid stood up, dusted herself off, and crossed her arms. She was wearing a pleated skirt and the orange shirt they had as a uniform. Her blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail. “How’s your panther?”

“He’s not my panther.” Hiccup scoffed as he filled the bird feeders. “He’s just a panther that I eat lunch with.”

Astrid gave him a skeptical look. “Uh-huh. So how’s he doing?”

Hiccup couldn’t help but grin. “Much better.”

“That’s good.” Astrid took the rest of the bird feed from him and filled the feeders on the other side of the enclosure. “Do you think he’ll end up in the zoo or in the wild?”

Hiccup gave a deep sigh. “Well… My mom says his leg is a huge handicap for him. They don’t think he’d last long in the wild.”

“So... zoo?” Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, looks like it.” Hiccup gave a half hearted shrug. Part of him wanted the panther to stay, but he was still disappointed on the panther’s behalf he couldn’t go back to the wild.

“So, what’re you gonna name him?” Astrid set down the rest of the bird feed and turned to face him across the enclosure.

Hiccup gave Astrid an odd, skeptical look. “What makes you think I’m gonna be the one to name him?”

Astrid barked a laugh. “Your mom is in charge of the Sanctuary, and you’ve bonded with the panther, she’s gonna let you name him.”


	2. Toothless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup picks a name.

That stayed in Hiccup’s mind for days afterwards. It was truly starting to dawn on him, the panther was staying, and Hiccup would have to name it. Hiccup sat down against the glass, and began to unpack his lunch. The panther, true to their routine, slinked over and laid down a few feet from the glass. He made a whiney noise in the back of his throat.

Hiccup scoffed. “Really?” He asked.

The panther whined loader, his tail swishing behind him, and his ears perked.

Hiccup nodded. “Interesting... say buddy, you need a name. Suggestions?” Hiccup gestured towards the feline for his input.

The panther made another noise, then yawned, curling his tongue and showing off his sharp teeth.

Hiccup rolled his eyes in fond amusement, then gave the panther a toothy smile. “Did you miss your nap?”

The panther eyed Hiccup for a moment, then did something miraculous. He drew back his lips to give Hiccup an uncertain, toothy, fang-filled grin. He looked at Hiccup like he was waiting for validation or praise for his actions.

Hiccup nearly burst of laughing. “Oh my god.” He pressed a hand against the glass. “You’re so weird.”

The panther made a pleased noise and flopped over on his side, bathing in the sunlight.

Hiccup finally picked up his sandwich and took a bit. “I’ll find a name for you soon, buddy.” He decided through a mouthful of tuna sandwich.

\-----

Moving the panther into his new exclosure was difficult. They didn’t actually have any other panthers in the Berk Zoo, so at the very least they didn’t have to introduce him to other animals. They did, however, have to knock him out, put him in a crate, and wheel him all the way to his new home. Hiccup walked beside the crate with his hand on the top as Snotlout and the twins pushed it.

Once the crate was inside the enclosure, Snotlout and the twins left. Hiccup stayed behind inside the enclosure. The panther was fast asleep inside the crate, with the door open. Hiccup couldn’t help it, he wanted to get and up close and personal look at his panther friend. He’d never been on the same side of the glass before. 

Hiccup knew he shouldn’t be doing this, and his mother would kill him if she found out. No one was supposed to be inside the enclosure when introducing an animal to it, but Hiccup was stupid and young and did it anyway. He kneeled in front of the crate door, staring at the panther’s sleeping face. He looked peaceful.

Suddenly, before Hiccup could leave the enclosure, the panther’s eyes slowly blinked open. He didn’t move, and neither did the panther. They stared at each other in silence, the after what seemed like hours, the panther made a noise in the back of his throat, like a greeting.

Hiccup swallowed nervously, then gave the panther a smile. “Really? Tell me more.” He replied, his voice was a little shaky, but he got the words out either way.

The panther made another noise, this one sounded more like a complaint.

“Oh.” Hiccup realized, he was blocking the panther’s exit. “Sorry buddy.” He carefully scooted backwards to his feline friend could leave the crate and explore his new enclosure.

The panther crawled out of the crate and glanced around, taking in the new environment. Hiccup watched silently as he limped around the enclosure, sniffing at rocks, trees, and the little pond. He seemed untrusting of the new situation, but overall didn’t seem too stressed out.

“Hey, buddy?” Hiccup called gently.

The panther glanced over his shoulder to look at Hiccup. He made a noise that Hiccup took as a,’ What is it?’

“Do you like your new place?” Hiccup asked, gesturing around them.

The panther answered by flopping down on his side in a sunny patch of grass. Hiccup took that as a ‘yes.’

\-----

Valka never found out Hiccup was in the enclosure when the panther woke up, but he was allowed inside for feeding time anyway. Hiccup opened the enclosure door and hauled a large bucket of meat inside, the panther’s lunch. Hiccup really hated calling him ‘the panther.’ The poor guy needed a name.

Hiccup limped towards the middle of the enclosure, so all the watching visitors could see him. He set down the bucket and pulled out a piece of meat. “Hey, buddy?!” Hiccup called, unsure where the panther had slinked off to. There were lots of hiding places in his enclosure.

Hiccup heard a smug, pleased noise from above, and glanced up. The panther was reclining in a tree branch, looking down at Hiccup. Hiccup held up the slab of meat, showing it to the panther, who made another noise of approval.

He climbed out of the tree and slinked towards Hiccup. He sat down a few feet from the human, and watched expectantly. Hiccup crouched down so he was at the panther’s level, and held out the meat again, offering it. The beast shot forward and snatched it out of Hiccup’s hand. He immediately scarfed about half of the raw meat down.

Hiccup nodded to himself approvingly. “Good boy, eat up.”

Hiccup turned to the bucket to get another piece of meat, but when he turned back he felt something wet fall into his lap. The panther was standing over him, mere inches away, but not touching him. He was looking at Hiccup expectantly, the glanced down at Hiccup’s lap.

Hiccup looked down and saw he’d dropped the other half of the meat into Hiccup’s lap. He was trying to share, to be considerate. Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh. “Um, thank you?”

The panther made a whiney noise and looked back down at the meat. 

Hiccup shook his head. “No, buddy, I don’t eat raw meat.” He picked up the meat and held it back out to the panther, who only whine louder. “Oh no, bud, I can’t.” Hiccup insisted, holding it out.

The look on his face was almost enough to break Hiccup. He sighed, and held the meat up to his mouth. He pretended to take a bite, chewed his fictional mouthful, then made a show of swallowing.

Seemingly satisfied, the panther gave Hiccup another toothy, clumsy grin. Hiccup grinned back, then held out the meat, offering it to the panther. This time he gladly took it. The panther ate the rest of the meat without trying to share, thank god.

Hiccup sat with him the entire time, keeping a respectful distance, and talking quietly with the feline, who only made small noises in response. The company was nice though.

\-----

“Have you picked a name yet? We need something to put on the enclosure.” Valka asked as she prepared an injured animal’s lunch. They were in the sanctuary, Hiccup had been asked to hold the door again, and was now chatting with his mother.

“No, I haven’t. I’m still working on it.” Hiccup sighed. “I had a couple ideas… Buddy, Shadow, Smiley, Toothless, Simon-,”

Valka cut him off. “Toothless?” She raised an eyebrow. “Why on earth, Toothless?”

Hiccup shrugged. “He’s got a really toothy smile, and I just think it’s funny.”

Valka rolled her eyes. “To each their own, I guess.”

Hiccup had to head out to feed the panther doon after. As he hauled the bucket of meat into the enclosure, the panther came slinking up. The feline offered an awkward toothy grin as greeting. Hiccup sighed. “Okay…” He said, fondly amused by the animal. “Toothless it is.”

The panther perked up, tilting his head at Hiccup curiously. Hiccup set down the bucket of meat and placed both hands on his hips. “What? You like that name? Toothless?”

Toothless purred his approval, then went sniffing at the bucket. Hiccup pulled out a piece of meat and offered it to Toothless, who ate it right out of Hiccup’s hand. He was still wary of Hiccup’s touch, and seemed to be okay with taking food from him.

Experimentally, Hiccup extended his hand in an attempt to touch the panther. He flinched away, eyeing Hiccup in a distrusting fashion. Hiccup dropped his hand away, slightly disappointed. “Sorry bud.” He sighed, and grabbed another piece of meat.

Hiccup told Toothless all about this day while he ate, all the while giving small responses, grumbles, and mewls throughout. He could see young children pointing and exclaiming to their parents outside the enclosure. Despite the noisy children, just sitting beside Toothless felt peaceful.

\-----

After a few weeks they had fallen into an easy routine. Hiccup brought Toothless lunch, they chatted, then Hiccup left. Today was just like every other day. Toothless just finished eating, and Hiccup couldn’t help himself. He extended his open palm to Toothless in an attempt to pet him, and Toothless flinched away again.

Hiccup sighed and withdrew his hand, but then a new idea hit him. He once again held out his hand, then turned his face away, offering contact instead of demanding it.

After a long moment of hesitation, he felt something soft but solid, and very warm, press into his hand. Hiccup opened his eyes and turned to look. Toothless was leaning into the touch, his eyes closed contently. Hiccup could feel the slight vibration of a purr rumbling through the animal’s body.

The moment was short lived though. Toothless opened his eyes, shook his head, and withdrew from the touch. Hiccup grinned wide, suddenly overjoyed by the brief contact. 

“Good boy.” Hiccup praised, and Toothless gave him a toothy grin in return.


	3. Toys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup gets Toothless some toys

Unfortunately, Hiccup caught a fairly nasty cold the next day, and had to stay home. Astrid covered his shift, but sent him text throughout the day about how displeased Toothless had been with his absence. Honestly, Hiccup was bit flattered by Toothless’s reaction, although he did miss the panther.

One sick day turned into five due to a significant amount of vomiting. According to Astrid and Valka, Toothless was very upset. Astrid texted him a picture of the panther, lurking in the back of the enclosure, a mass of unmoving black fur. It really tugged at Hiccup’s heart strings.

Finally, when Hiccup returned, the first thing he did was head to Toothless’s enclosure. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted by an eager pather, his ears perked, tail swishing, and bright, excited green eyes.

Before Hiccup could even say anything, Toothless pounced on Hiccup. Hiccup yelped and fell to the ground, trapped under the panther’s weight. He heard startled concerned gasps from the visitors outside the enclosure.

“The panther’s attacking him!” A man yelled, panicked.

Hiccup was too shocked to react straight away, but quickly realized Toothless wasn’t hurting him. He was rubbing his face against Hiccup’s cheek and purring loudly. His tail swished excitedly. Toothless whined and practically laid down on top of Hiccup, cozying up to him like a stuffed animal.

“Uh, wow…” Hiccup chuckled. “You really missed me, huh boy?” Hiccup hesitantly reached up and pet the panther’s head. Toothless leaned into the touch, making clingy whiny noises.

“Hiccup?!” He heard Astrid exclaim from outside the enclosure. He craned his neck to meet her gaze through the glass. She must have heard the commotion. “Are you okay?!” She called.

Hiccup gave her a grin and a thumbs up. “Totally fine! He’s just being clingy.”

Astrid visabaly relaxed and placed both hands on her hips. “You spoil that animal.” She scolded.

Hiccup wrapped both arms around Toothless’s form and hugged him tight. The panther only further melted against Hiccup’s body, obviously very relaxed. “He missed me!”

Toothless didn’t allow Hiccup to move for two hours. Some of the other employees attempted to cox Toothless off of Hiccup, but had no success. Toothless snarled at them every time they got close.

Eventually Toothless stood up and slinked away, seemingly satisfied with his fill of affection today. Hiccup left the enclosure, picking shedded panther fur off his orange uniform shirt the entire way. As soon as he was out of the enclosure, another employee approached him.

It was Heather, she typically worked with the dolphins. She had a strong bond with one in particular, Windshear. “Fishlegs mentioned you were trapped under a certain mass of black fur.” Heather laughed and handed him a lint roller. “Here, he wanted me to bring you this. It’s what he uses to get Meatlug’s fur off of him when she gets clingy.” Meatlug was a female grizzly Fishlegs had bonded with. She was incredibly affectionate.

“Thanks.” Hiccup took the lint roller and began to clean himself off.

Heather pat him on the shoulder, the picked off a few stray black hairs. “You might want to buy your own if he keeps trying to cuddle you to death.”

\-----

Toothless did, in fact, keep trying to cuddle him to death. Hiccup often ended up pinned beneath the overly affectionate feline. Today he found himself lying in a sunny patch of grass, Toothless laying across his chest, purring. It was such a nice day out, and Toothless was feeling clingy and apparently sleepy too, as he was about to doze off.

“You’re such a weird animal.” Hiccup scratched lightly behind his ears.

Toothless made a ‘Hrrr Mph’ noise, blowing air out his nose in a big content sigh. He slowly lifted his head and caned his neck to reach Hiccup’s face. Toothless gave Hiccup’s chin a rough, cleansing lick, as if grooming a cub.

Hiccup laughed and pussed Toothless’s face away. “You know that doesn’t wash out!”

Toothless made a noise of complaint and strained to lick his face again. Hiccup pushed the panther off of him and climbed to his feet. Toothless scrambled to his own feet and turned to face Hiccup. He dropped down into a crouch, his tail swishing playfully behind him and mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

Hiccup gave a short laugh. “Oh, you wanna play?”

Toothless’s ears perked up in response. “Mrrrphf” Toothless huffed before giving his signature toothy grin.

Hiccup took a fast, false step to the left, and Toothless moved to chance him, but Hiccup immediately broke right. He ran all the way to the other end of the enclosure, Toothless hot on his heels.

Toothless pounce at him, front paws raised high as they could go, as if he was about to give Hiccup a big bear hug. Hiccup caught Toothless around the middle and hugged him tight. Toothless let his front paws fall over Hiccup’s shoulders, and nuzzled against his face affectionately. 

Hiccup wasn’t very strong, so he couldn’t hold Toothless up for long, and they soon went tumbling to the ground. Toothless landed on top of him and immediately got comfortable again, using Hiccup as a mattress, and licking at his face.

“Okay, you win, asshole.” Hiccup scoffed, accepting his fate of being licked and cuddled to death.

\---------

Hiccup found himself in an odd situation, standing in the middle of a pet store, staring down a wall of toys. He wanted to buy Toothless something to play with, but what on earth would you buy a panther? What would he enjoy, but also not be able to rip apart in mere minutes? It had to withstand his strong jaws and sharp claws, and most of these toys could barely survive a large dog.

Hiccup took a squeaky duck toy off the wall and examined it skeptically. Toothless could rip the seams off this in seconds. He sighed and put it back.

“Can I help you find something?” An employee asked with a cheery smile. She was blonde with a pixie cut. Her name tag said Mala.

Hiccup startled. “Um!” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m looking for something…” He hesitated, trying to find the best way to explain himself. “...Something a cat would enjoy, but something that a monster couldn’t destroy if it tried it’s hardest.”

Mala nodded. “So something sturdy that your cat will like but your dog can’t destroy if he gets ahold of it?” 

Hiccup considered his answer before nodding. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

Mala smiled and plucked a small mouse toy off the shelf. “Maybe try this?” She handed it to him.

Hiccup turned the thing over in his hand. It was way too small. Toothless could easily swallow and choke on it. “It’s too small.” He handed it back, shaking his head.

Mala place the toy back on the shelf. Next she grabbed a rubber ball. “How about this?”

Hiccup squeezed the ball experimentally. It was hollow inside. “His teeth will pop that.” Hiccup shook his head again, then put it back on the shelf.

Mala gave Hiccup a slightly frustrated look. “Are you looking for something for both your cat and your dog? For them to share?”

Hiccup once again hesitated to consider his answer. “Umm… I’m looking for something for an animal that acts like a cat, but is bigger than a large dog.”

She gave him a dumbfounded look. “Pardon me?”

Hiccup sighed and finally gave in. He fished his phone out of his pocket and showed her his wallpaper. It was a picture of Toothless and Hiccup. Hiccup had his arm around the panther’s shoulders in a tight hug, and Toothless was grinning.

“I work at a zoo. That panther is like my best friend, and I want to get him a toy.” Hiccup explained. 

Mala blinked owlishly at the photo. “Oh, um… Let's look at dog toys. Those are bigger and sturdier.” 

Mala led Hiccup across the store to look at larger toys, and she was a big help! Hiccup left the store with a thick rope tug-a-war toy, a rubber kong toy, and a solid rubber ball. Then for the heck of it, Hiccup bought one stuffed squeaky toy of a sheep. It was cheap and on sale, of if Toothless destroyed it in two seconds it wouldn’t be a huge loss. If he didn’t destroy it, maybe Hiccup could buy more toys like it.

Mala rang him up, and he thanked her before leaving. Toothless was going to have hell of a day tomorrow.

\-------

When Hiccup returned to the enclosure, holding a large brown bag of toys, Toothless came bounding up with an excited look in his eyes. He always got curious when Hiccup brought things with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup could see visitors watching and pointing as he pulled out the thick rope tug-a-war toy. He tossed the bag aside, planning on showing Toothless the other toys later.

He crouched in front of Toothless, who purred and wriggled excitedly. Hiccup held out the toy for Toothless to sniff. The panther gently took one end of the toy into his mouth and tried to walk away from Hiccup, but Hiccup gave the toy a rough yank. It startled Toothless. Based on the look on the poor feline’s face, he expected Hiccup to just give him the toy.

Toothless gave Hiccup an odd look, then gave the toy a gentle tug again, trying to take it from Hiccup. Hiccup gave the toy another harsh yank. Toothless actually stumbled forward a few steps.

Finally, Toothless seemed to get the message. He sunk his teeth into the rope and gave Hiccup a rough yank. Hiccup didn’t let up. He tightened his grip on the rope and pulled as hard as he could. Toothless snarled, baring his teeth and pulling harder.

Hiccup grinned wide and readjusted his grip on the rope. In the split second he adjusted his grip, Toothless yanked it straight out of his hands, then raised his head proudly and pranced away, the toy hanging limp in his jaws.

“Aw! Cheater!” Hiccup yelled after him, then broke into a run, chasing down the panther. 

When Toothless saw Hiccup running after him, he burst into a run, obviously reluctant to give back the toy.

Hiccup ran after him for about two minutes before Toothless dropped the toy and dashed off to the other end of the enclosure. Hiccup stopped to catch his breath and pick up the toy. When he looked up he met eyes with a little girl on the other side of the glass. She was looking directly at Hiccup and pointing to his right.

Hiccup followed her finger to the other end of the enclosure, where Toothless had his head deep inside the brown bag of toys, his tail swishing back and forth behind him. “Hey!” Hiccup barked a laugh. “You little-,” He let out a loud frustrated groan and jogged towards Toothless.

When The panther heard him coming, he retracted his head from the bag. In his jaws was the stuffed sheep toy. He was holding it so gingerly, and looking at Hiccup with bright eyes. When Hiccup got close, Toothless darted away with the toy still in his mouth.

Hiccup huffed and placed both hands on his hips. “You little asshole…” He muttered under his breath.

Toothless was watching him from the other end of the enclosure, the sheep in his mouth and a mischievous excitement in his eyes. He leapt into a tree and reclined on the branch, far out of Hiccup’s reach.

Hiccup slowly walked over to the tree and stared up at the panther, who was now chewing on the sheep, keeping it pinned beneath his huge paws. Hiccup winced when he heard a seam tear. Toothless halted immediately, then slowly opened his mouth. He stared down at the sheep. It’s face was ripped, and poor Toothless looked mortified.

He made a whiny noise and looked down at Hiccup. “Yeah, bud, that’s what happens when you chew on things.” Hiccup gave him a sympathetic look.

Toothless picked up the sheep again and leapt down from the tree. He landed with a muffled thud beside Hiccup, then dropped the sheep at his feet.

Hiccup sighed and picked it up. He examined the tear, knowing it was probably best just to throw the toy away. He turned to tell Toothless the bad news, but the pleading look in his eyes stopped Hiccup.

He glanced between Toothless and the toy, then gave a defeated sigh. “Okay.”

\--------

Hiccup returned to the pet store the next morning and bought a brand new sheep toy to replace the ripped one. Mala was happy to assist him again, so long as Hiccup showed her plenty of photos of Toothless.

Hiccup headed straight to work afterwards, and immediately presented Toothless with the new Sheep. He held it out to the panther, who sniffed it. Toothless flattened his ears and gave a displeased grumble.

“What?” Hiccup asked. “It’s your sheep!”

Toothless scowled at Hiccup, clearly unconvinced. He flicked his tail at Hiccup, and gave him the stink eye. 

Hiccup groaned. “What? What is it? You don’t want the sheep, you big baby?”

Toothless made a low complaining noise and turned away from the offending sheep.

Try as he might, Hiccup couldn’t convince Toothless to take the stuffed sheep. Instead, Hiccup spent his entire lunch break in the dolphin enclosure with the old one, borrowing Heather’s sewing kit. 

Heather was standing on the edge of the pool, directing Windshear with tricks. She was wearing an orange and black wetsuit, and her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. She gave a small gesture towards Windshear, and the dolphin leapt out of the water for a treat.

Hiccup sat to the side, in the audience stands, desperately trying to patch up Toothless’s sheep. Thank god Heather let him borrow her sewing kit. The room was empty besides Hiccup, Heather, and Windshear, because the zoo hadn’t opened yet.

“You must care a lot about this panther to sew up a sheep for him.” Heather commented as Windshear came up for her treat. Heather leaned down to feed her.

“He’s an asshole,” Hiccup huffed as he switched up the sheep’s face, never looking up form his work. “But he’s my asshole, and he really likes this sheep so I gotta.”

“He really wouldn’t take the new one?” Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hiccup shook his head. “Nope. He barely sniffed the thing.”

“Yikes.” Heather kneeled in front of the pool as Windshear resurfaced. She gave her another treat.

“Does Windshear have any toys?” Hiccup asked.

Heather shook her head. “Not really. She has beach balls, but she shares those with all the other dolphins.”

Hiccup finished up the last few stitches and tied it off. “There! Done!” He began packing up the sewing kit.

Heather walked away from the pool to see for herself. Heather only had black thread, so it was a stark contrast against the sheep’s white face, and looked quite awkward. Hiccup was obviously not a master seamster, it was shoddy work at best, but at least stuffing wasn’t leaking out the poor thing’s face.

Heather scoffed. “That’s gonna break again.”

Hiccup shrugged. “Maybe he’ll be more careful with it this time. Thanks for letting me borrow your kit.” He handed it back to her, then went on his way.

Hiccup went straight back to Toothless’s enclosure, and Toothless came bounding up like always, ears perked up. “Hey buddy!” Hiccup greeted, holding the sheep behind his back. “I fixed your sheep!” Hiccup whipped it around and presented it to Toothless, who made a loud, excited noise.

He shot forward and took the sheep in his mouth, then darted away from Hiccup, running laps around the enclosure in excitement.

“Hey! Be careful!” Hiccup warned. “I’m not patching it up again!”

Toothless halted his excited running, and approached Hiccup again. He dropped the sheep on the ground and gave Hiccup a toothy grin before tackling him to the ground. He rubbed his face against Hiccup’s cheek affectionately, purring all the while.

Hiccup sighed and wrapped both arms around the panther in a big hug. “Okay… maybe the effort was worth it.”

\---------

“The effort was not worth it!” Hiccup grumbled as he sewed up the sheep for the fourth time that week. Heather was barely listening to him at this point. Windshear had her full attention, but that didn’t stop Hiccup from complaining.

“Toothless has no idea how to treat this thing gently so he keeps ripping it and I gotta keep fixing it because he pouts and whines when it rips! He needs to learn how to be gentle with his toys!”

“Hmm yeah.” Heather nodded absentmindedly.

“I’m so surprised that tug-a-war toy has lasted this long! Ugh, I wish he’d just take the new sheep…” Hiccup violently tied up the thread and packed up the kit. “Thanks again.” He grumbled as he left.

“Yeah, yeah, totally…” Heather mumbled, still not listening to a word out of his mouth.

Toothless, of course, was ecstatic to receive the patched up sheep, and immediately ran off with it. That stupid happy look on that stupid happy panther’s face kinda made it worth it, but god, Hiccup hoped it would stay in one piece this time.

Hiccup had taken to calling the stuffed sheep Mr. Bah, and the name had stuck. There were some days where Hiccup would find Mr. Bah lying discarded on the grass, but before he could pick it up, Toothless would swoop in and snatch it. He only let Hiccup touch it when Mr. Bah ripped, which was often.

Hiccup adtempted to get Toothless more interested in the other toys, namely the tug-a-war toy. Today was one of teh rare days Hiccup got Toothless to play tug-a-war. The panther had his teeth sunk into the rope, and was pulling as hard as he could, effectively dragging Hiccup accross the enclosure.

Hiccup planted his feet and gave the rope a harsh yank, which caused Toothless to stumble, then slip and fall flat on his face. As Toothless fell, he dropped the rope, causing Hiccup to fall onto his ass. Toothless practically landed in his lap, yelping and crying out as he fell.

“Toothless?!” Hiccup asked, panic shooting through him. The panther was whimpering and struggling to get to his feet. Hiccup helped guide him upwards, then glanced back at his left hind leg, the injured one.

His stump was twisted awkwardly, and he refused to let it tough the grass. Hiccup reached catuiously towards his leg, but Toothless shifted to he couldn’t touch it. He whined at Hiccup, then licked his face.

Hiccup sighed and stroked his head. ”I know bud.” His eyes drifted down to his own prosthetic leg, then an idea hit him.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter to be posted soon, (Hopefully. Fingers crossed.)


End file.
